Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP)

What Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) does

Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) is a publicly funded government grant program administered by Salt Lake County, Utah, that annually distributes funding to more than 230 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations serving county residents and visitors. Established as a county program (firmographics report a 1997 founding year, though the specific date is not disclosed in available sources), ZAP operates from the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center in Taylorsville and is led by a four-person core team: Program Director Samantha Thermos, Impact Program Manager Kelsey M. Ellis, Grants & Communications Coordinator Cody Goetz, and Program Assistant Dustyn Burt. The program's mission is to enhance Salt Lake County resident and visitor experiences through art, cultural, historical, and recreational offerings.

ZAP's core "products" are structured grant mechanisms — Tier I, Tier II, Zoological, Collaborative, and Local Arts Agency funding tracks — administered through a tiered application process on the ZAP website. Beyond direct grant distribution, the program offers the Impact Program and Impact Collaborative for capacity-building among grantees, a searchable Grantee Directory, a Grantee Events calendar, and a Scenario Planning Cohort (with 2026 Guidelines) for operational training. ZAP funding also supports Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation operations, including 21 recreation centers, 42 parks, and thousands of acres of open space. Funded programs collectively serve more than 8 million visitors per year, with nearly half attending free of charge.

ZAP's revenue model is government funding via Salt Lake County tax revenues — there is no fee-based pricing, no commercial product, and no private investment. The program operates as a public-sector fund distributor and capacity-builder rather than a commercial enterprise, with go-to-market executed through digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, MailChimp newsletter, county website) and community engagement. The operating scope is strictly regional (Salt Lake County), and the program carries no patents, no private partnerships, no M&A activity, and no disclosed budget figures.

Name

Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP)

Legal name

Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP)

Website

https://zapisyou.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) is a publicly funded government grant program distributing annual funding to over 230 arts and cultural nonprofits in Salt Lake County, supporting cultural events, museums, festivals, and 21 recreation centers with 42 parks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Grant Programs (Arts, Culture & Recreation Funding)

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Grant Funding & Public/Nonprofit Financing (MPADAAAO)

Keywords

• Government grant programs
• Arts and culture funding
• Public recreation services
• Nonprofit grant administration
• County parks funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Taylorsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Tax Funding: ZAP is a publicly funded program supported by Salt Lake County tax revenues. The program distributes grant funding annually to over 230 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations and supports Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation operations including 21 recreation centers, 42 parks, and thousands of acres of open space.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ZAP is a publicly funded grant program that annually distributes funding to over 230 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations serving Salt Lake County. The program offers Tier I, Tier II, Zoological, Collaborative, and Local Arts Agency funding streams, plus an Impact Program for capacity building. ZAP funding also supports Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation operations including 21 recreation centers, 42 parks, and thousands of acres of open space, serving 8 million+ visitors annually with nearly half attending free of charge.

Product overview

Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) is a publicly funded grants and support program—not a commercial software product—that provides annual funding to over 230 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations serving Salt Lake County. The program operates through several interconnected components: the Grants Program (offering Tier I, Tier II, and Zoological Funding), the Impact Program (with the Collaborative Program and Local Arts Agency Program as sub-initiatives), and the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center as the administrative headquarters. ZAP also maintains a searchable Grantee Directory and Grantee Events calendar, while the Scenario Planning Cohort provides specialized training for Arts & Culture organizations. Funding also supports Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation operations including 21 recreation centers and 42 parks. The program serves over 8 million visitors annually, with nearly half attending programs free of charge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZAP Grants Program Publicly funded grant program that annually supports over 230 arts and cultural nonprofit organizations in Salt Lake County through Tier I, Tier II, and Zoological Funding mechanisms. For qualifying nonprofit arts, cultural, historical, and recreational organizations.
• ZAP Impact Program Capacity-building program designed to help Salt Lake County's arts and culture organizations access and utilize community resources to build a diverse and robust arts and culture scene in every county neighborhood. For arts and culture nonprofits county-wide.
• Impact Collaborative Program A smaller cohort-based program offering hands-on, real-life scenario planning for Arts & Culture communities under the Impact Program. For participating arts and culture organizations.
• Local Arts Agency Program Grants program specifically for advancing local arts agencies within Salt Lake County, supporting local arts agency development as part of the Impact Program. For Salt Lake County local arts agencies.
• Scenario Planning Cohort A collaborative cohort providing hands-on scenario planning training for Arts & Culture organizations facing real-life operational challenges. For arts and culture nonprofits in Salt Lake County.
• ZAP Grantee Directory Searchable directory of current ZAP grantee organizations across arts, culture, and related sectors, published for public use on the county website.
• ZAP Grantee Events Calendar Calendar and listings of events hosted by ZAP-funded grantee organizations, providing public access to programming across the county.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports 230+ arts and cultural nonprofit organizations annually
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Sundance Institute: Sundance Institute is a Utah-based nonprofit supporting independent storytelling and artists through residencies, labs, and the Sundance Film Festival. It is a peer in the Utah arts/culture ecosystem rather than as a grantmaking administrator, sharing overlapping geography and stakeholder community with ZAP.
• National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: NASAA is the membership association representing the 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the United States. It is an ecosystem peer to ZAP through shared mission alignment and policy advocacy, though it does not directly fund individual nonprofits.
• Americans for the Arts: Americans for the Arts is a national nonprofit service organization supporting local arts agencies and their grantees through advocacy, research, and programming. It is thematically aligned with ZAP's arts funding mission but operates in an enabling/advocacy role rather than as a direct grantmaker.

Broad incumbents

• National Endowment for the Arts: The NEA is the federal government's primary arts grantmaking agency, distributing appropriated funds to nonprofit arts organizations nationwide. It is functionally similar to ZAP as a public-sector arts funder but operates at a vastly larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• National Recreation and Park Association: NRPA is the national nonprofit dedicated to advancing park and recreation development, providing advocacy, education, and certification to local park agencies. It overlaps with ZAP's parks/recreation funding pillar at a national advocacy level rather than a direct grantmaking level.

Regional players

• Utah Division of Arts & Museums: The state-level arts and museums agency for Utah, distributing state appropriations and pass-through federal funds to cultural organizations across the state. It operates in the same state as ZAP but at a higher jurisdictional level, serving overlapping grantee populations.
• Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF): WESTAF is a regional arts service organization serving 13 western U.S. states and jurisdictions, administering grant programs and technology services for state arts agencies and their grantees. It is functionally analogous to ZAP as a public-purpose arts funder but with a multi-state regional footprint.
• Mid-America Arts Alliance: Mid-America Arts Alliance is a regional arts organization serving six Midwestern states, distributing regranted federal and state funds to arts organizations and providing professional development. Comparable to ZAP in its public-purpose grantmaking function but operating across a multi-state region.
• Arts Midwest: Arts Midwest is a regional arts service organization serving nine Midwestern states, administering grant programs and cultural exchange initiatives with public funding. It performs an analogous public-purpose arts funding function to ZAP but across a multi-state geography.

Direct peers

• 4Culture: 4Culture is the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington, distributing lodging-tax revenues to arts, heritage, and preservation nonprofits. It is the closest functional analogue to ZAP at the county-government level, operating a similar tiered grant model for community cultural funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@slcozap
• Facebookfacebook.com/slcoZAP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slcozap
• Instagraminstagram.com/slcozap

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP)